Martinez heads straight to K Street

It used to be that lawmakers were coy about any ideas they had about heading for K Street, waiting until their terms ended before announcing they were beginning a more lucrative career.

But in recent years, members of Congress planning to become lobbyists have not been able to wait. In fact, when Florida Republican Mel Martinez this week accepted a position with the mega-lobbying and law firm DLA Piper — less than two weeks after resigning from the Senate — it brought to five the number of former lawmakers since 2007 who have abandoned their constituents midterm and almost immediately resurfaced with lobbying firms, according to data provided by the nonpartisan Center for Responsive Politics.

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“This used to be considered unacceptable, but it really is a growing phenomenon,” said Meredith McGehee, who lobbies for stricter lobbying and ethics regulations for the nonpartisan Campaign Legal Center. “The reality is that the money has gotten so big and so tempting these days, that I think a lot of these members are saying, ‘I don’t think I’ll go back into political office, first of all, and, the money is just too big to turn down.’”

Martinez was traveling in Brazil and could not be reached for comment, but in February, his office insisted he would serve until the end of his term in January 2011 before retiring from Congress to spend more time with his family. Last month, though, he reversed course, announcing he would step down as soon as Florida Gov. Charlie Crist appointed a successor.

That prompted some quick recruitment outreach by DLA partner Ignacio Sanchez, who has been active in Republican politics and knew Martinez — a former trial lawyer, Orange County, Fla., mayor, secretary of Housing and Urban Development and Republican National Committee chairman — from Florida legal circles and their shared interest in Cuban-American issues.

“When he announced he was going to retire and let the governor appoint someone to finish out the term, I immediately talked to him and said, ‘You really ought to consider looking at our firm. I think you would really do well, and we would love to have you,’” Sanchez told the Blog of LegalTimes.

Sanchez, who was traveling with Martinez and also could not be reached, told the BLT that

Martinez met with folks from DLA before he formally stepped down from the Senate but stressed that the firm extended “no financial terms, no offer, no details” to Martinez until after he resigned Sept. 9.

“We didn’t have any discussions with him until he decided to leave the Senate, and we didn’t conduct any negotiations with him of any sort until he had left the Senate,” said John Merrigan, a DLA partner.